Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra) vs Apple Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra) | AppleMac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | June 2023 | March 2025 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Apple M2 Max or Apple M2 Ultra | Apple M4 Max or Apple M3 Ultra |
| CPU cores | 12 or 24 | 14, 16, 28 or 32 |
| Graphics | 30-core GPU, 38-core GPU, 60-core GPU or 76-core GPU | 32-core GPU, 40-core GPU, 60-core GPU or 80-core GPU |
| Memory | 32 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 192 GB | 36 GB, 96 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB (better) |
| Storage | 512 GB to 8 TB | 512 GB to 16 TB (better) |
| CPU | M2 Max: 12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores; M2 Ultra: 24-core CPU with 16 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores | M4 Max: 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, or 16-core CPU; M3 Ultra: 28-core CPU with 20 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores, or 32-core CPU |
| GPU | M2 Max: 30-core or 38-core GPU; M2 Ultra: 60-core or 76-core GPU | M4 Max: 32-core or 40-core GPU; M3 Ultra: 60-core or 80-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing |
| AI engine | 16-core Neural Engine (M2 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M2 Ultra) | 16-core Neural Engine (M4 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M3 Ultra) |
| Memory type | – | M4 Max: 36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB with the 16-core CPU / 40-core GPU. M3 Ultra: 96GB or 256GB in the current specification table. Apple announced 512GB at launch and documents a 32-core CPU / 80-core GPU, 512GB, 16TB system in its power test; that historical option is retained separately. |
| Memory bandwidth | M2 Max: 400GB/s; M2 Ultra: 800GB/s | M4 Max: 410GB/s with the 32-core GPU, 546GB/s with the 40-core GPU; M3 Ultra: 819GB/s. M4 Max takes 36GB (32-core GPU) or 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (40-core GPU); M3 Ultra takes 96GB or 256GB, and was offered with up to 512GB at launch |
| Storage type | SSD | SSD |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; M2 Max: video decode engine, two video encode engines and two ProRes encode and decode engines; M2 Ultra: two video decode engines, four video encode engines and four ProRes encode and decode engines | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode; M4 Max: video decode engine, two video encode engines and two ProRes encode and decode engines; M3 Ultra: two video decode engines, four video encode engines and four ProRes encode and decode engines |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 4 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack | 4 × Thunderbolt 5, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 10 Gb/s | 10 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 5 | Up to 5 |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Front ports | M2 Max: 2 × USB-C (up to 10Gb/s); M2 Ultra: 2 × Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40Gb/s); SDXC card slot (UHS-II) | M4 Max: 2 × USB-C (up to 10Gb/s); M3 Ultra: 2 × Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s); SDXC card slot (UHS-II) |
| Back ports | 4 × Thunderbolt 4 with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s) and DisplayPort; 2 × USB-A (up to 5Gb/s); HDMI with multichannel audio output; 10Gb Ethernet (RJ-45); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones | 4 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 5 and USB 4 (up to 120Gb/s), USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) and DisplayPort 2.1; 2 × USB-A (USB 3, up to 5Gb/s); HDMI 2.1 with multichannel audio output; 10Gb Ethernet (RJ-45); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones |
| External displays | M2 Max: up to five (four at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt plus one at 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or three (two at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz over HDMI); M2 Ultra: up to eight at up to 4K 60Hz, six at up to 6K 60Hz, or three at up to 8K 60Hz; VRR, HDR and multichannel audio supported | M4 Max: up to five (four at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt plus one at 4K 144Hz over HDMI), or three (two at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz over HDMI); M3 Ultra: up to eight at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 144Hz, or four at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz; VRR, HDR and multichannel audio supported |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker | Built-in speaker |
| Microphones | None built in | None built in |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Compact | Compact |
| Weight | 2.7 kg (better) | 2.74 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 197 × 197 × 95 mm | 197 × 197 × 95 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Power supply | Built-in; 100–240V AC; 370W maximum continuous power | Built-in; 100–240V AC; 480W maximum continuous power |
| Colours | Silver | Silver |
| In the box | Mac Studio, power lead | Mac Studio, power lead |
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